Leslie Saeta Fine Art
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the everyday life of a working artist

Paint Probation

2/2/2016

17 Comments

 
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As of right now I am putting myself on paint probation. Yep. It's serious.

For thirty days in January I painted in my studio. Unfortunately that led to very little time to put things away (like paint), a few trips to the art store (to buy paint) and pretty much total chaos (of paint) in my studio.

This morning I decided it might make sense to organize my studio. First I organized my paintings and canvases. (You might remember my previous post about being a canvas hoarder.) Then I tackled the many tubes and jars of acrylic paint. I organized them by color (for about the 10th time) in my favorite aqua colored rolling metal trays from ikea.

As you can see, the result is completely ridiculous. I have way too many tubes and jars of paint. I have no idea why I have so many tubes of yellow paint (like 20ish) and aqua paint (like 20ish). I honestly had no idea I had this much acrylic paint. Especially in the two colors previously mentioned.

The end result? I am on paint probation. I cannot and will not buy any more paint. (At least until I have less than five containers of blue, aqua, green, yellow and red paint.) Maybe it's easier if I paint all of my February abstracts in the color palette of aqua and yellow. That might work.

So I am curious. Do you have an organized studio? Or a paint problem?
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17 Comments
Alice Edwards link
2/2/2016 08:20:34 am

I have to get this place back into some kind of shape after the 30 -30. it seems a great number of us let things got to rack and ruin. Now I'm cracking the whip, gotta do the the basics etc

I have to make a art store run I'm out of a couple of paints. So I'll celebrate having done the the 30-30 and collaged it by going to the art store.

Guess i won't see you there for a while.

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Leslie Saeta
2/2/2016 10:45:50 pm

I promise you will not see me at the Art store!

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Karin
2/2/2016 09:00:02 am

I too have a lot of paint. And a lot of white and yellow for some reason. And also nearly every shade of red--cool and warm.

My only excuse is that I need three sets of everything: one set for the studio, one for plein air, and one for the cottage. When large tubes are colour are half empty in the studio, they are reassigned to the plein air kit.

I keep one tube of every colour I buy in my studio. Duplicate tubes of colour are kept in a storeage room and sorted by colour. So if I can't find a colour in my studio, I don't have it. So, in theory, I know exactly what I have. (Such are the lies we tell ourselves.)

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Leslie Saeta
2/2/2016 10:46:39 pm

You are very organized Karin! Very impressive.

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Sheila Delgado link
2/3/2016 09:23:41 am

I cleaned my desk off after the challenge ended. Like taking a deep breath to start something new. I had paint and paper everywhere. (Didn't do any canvases this time, but I have a small stack of them ready to go.)
But my side table "storage" area is still a mess. My storage crates are full, so I need to find a new spot for the new paint bottles.
I have a dozen or so whites, and yellows, and blues.
I like your idea Leslie - could be a painting challenge. Do a series in a limited palette. LOL

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Leslie Saeta
2/3/2016 09:27:39 am

Ahhh ... a painting challenge where you try to use up all of your old paint! Great idea. Haha.

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Tommy McDonell link
2/3/2016 09:33:54 am

I so understand this. I have two studios which is one problem. But no matter the lists I can't remember most colors that I own.


If I die, there should be a way to notify people online. Most of my friends don't do mixed media.

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Sally Brown link
2/3/2016 10:17:40 am

This is too funny. I'm the same way. I like your trays. Happy Painting. Hugs. Sally

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Kimberly Santini link
2/3/2016 10:29:26 am

I have a great storage solution - an old steelcase cabinet/toolbox, 33 drawers, on casters. Perfect height for my palette to rest on, perfect storage for all my paints and brushes, sorted by color and size. But I so covet those IKEA carts (I have 2 vintage enameled tea carts that I store paper and flat panels on, and I'm sadly out of room or else I'd have those too!)

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Helen K Beacham Fine Art link
2/3/2016 10:43:03 am

The only difference for us watercolor painters is that our tubes are MUCH smaller. I store my colors in different baggies and I have a separate baggie with just the current colors on my palette for easy refills. But I'd sure like to have some aqua carts...now WHAT could I put in THOSE!?

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Val van der Poel link
2/3/2016 01:15:36 pm

After reading the comments I begin to wonder if I am an artist at all - lol. My studio space is pretty neat, my paints are organized, my canvases are organized and so are my brushes. I just had my husband put up a new shelf in my studio and it is still empty. Guess I could go to the art supply store - if we had one!

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Sally in the 818
2/3/2016 01:24:47 pm

Wow that's pretty good! At least it's organized.

I thought I had a bunch of paint, but you win. I am a brush hoarder, but only because I bought a whole box of miscellaneous brushes from a guy who bought an entire boxcar (WHAAAA???) worth of art supplies. It was a deal I couldn't resist :-)

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Christine Holzschuh link
2/3/2016 01:33:16 pm

Not as much paint as you Leslie, but I have acrylics, oils, and pastels. I also do sculpture in clay and stone, so there is that! I put my oils in tool boxes with little drawers...it works perfectly and my acrylics in a rolling cart with lots of drawers. The pastels are in boxes in another unit. I also cleaned and reorganized after 30 in 30. I actually am a bit stingy about paint so I need to get more!

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Gillian St George Contemporary Art link
2/3/2016 04:17:46 pm

Holy Moly Leslie! I guess you do have some paint! Makes my neat, color coordinated containers look timid by comparison.😜

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Ginny link
2/4/2016 05:05:21 am

This sort of thing happens to a lot! For some reason I think I need a lot of a particular paint color and as soon as I get about 10 tubes of it (cuz I'm SURE I'm going to need that much), I forget about that plan and move on to something else. I have drawers full of pint tubes I may never use! I know other artist who do the same. I think I will organize an artist's materials swap-like a ski swap!

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Roxanne link
2/4/2016 12:50:23 pm

oh do I ever have a paint problem! From September of last year through the end of December, it's been a whirl wind of activity- a wedding, lots of travel, a flurry of sale BIG and small, which all dissolved into one mess of a studio. And after reading Marie Kondo's book about the 'tidying' process and what 'sparks joy' ....well holy cow- I'm way overdue for a studio cleanout! Right, I'm hoping to make that happen after I finish this current commission I'm working on! ;-)

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Diana link
2/12/2016 01:54:04 pm

I'm "new" at the having a studio totally dedicated to my art. I paint on concrete, bookmarks, gift tags, smooth rocks, ceramic tiles, glasses, ornaments, note cards, greeting cards, and yes a few canvases. Each time I have a commission or a show, it's utter chaos until after the show, then it takes me a few days to put it all away only to pull everything out and rearrange yet again. It works great b/c I find items I'd forgotten and stashed away for "future projects". My paints are acrylic, a wonderful set of Prisma colored pencils, sharpies, pencils, my trusty eraser and pencil sharpener and sketch books. Paints are organized by color and yes I have bought duplicates, especially the cheepie 2 oz bottles that seem to breed. Painting on concrete destroys brushes - separate container makes a difference, especially when painting a pet's eye and needing that fine brush. Bottom line is rearranging, reorganizing, and taking a fresh approach to my studio has worked for me. Found entire set of colored pencils I knew I had bought and "lost". Love your blog!

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